I want to give you 90 minutes that are going to completely change the momentum in your giving year, particularly between now and the end of December. Not 90 minutes of watching me or listening to a webinar for an hour and a half…
90 minutes of action that will move you forward.
Meetings are hard to schedule, especially face-to-face. Meetings with potential donors are hard to fit in. Life gets in the way. You’re sick. Someone in your family is sick. You or a loved one are going through a challenge, and it has caused life as you know it to stop.
Do you want the forward momentum of your organization to stop? I’m assuming you don’t, so you’ve got to get in front of the people who you need to be in front of, even if just via Zoom.
You know who I am talking about. Share with these people all God has been doing in your ministry. Challenge them to think about the impact they can and will have through their giving.
Before I tell you what will truly get results that move you forward in how you use 90 minutes of action, let’s talk about what doesn’t work.
Here’s what doesn’t work.
Setting a goal for the number of meetings you’ll have each week does not work. It never happens. Why doesn’t this work? It has very little to do with the amount of time required from you. It takes effort to get meetings with people, to actually get in from of them in the first place. Don’t get hung up on trying to get meetings in the first place, or you’ll look up to realize it’s Friday and you’ve yet to hold one.
Thinking about it doesn’t work. Thinking about everything you have to do, all that is going to be done, and all that needs to be done does not move it to the done column. It doesn’t do or change anything other than the amount of unnecessary anxiety surging through you. Anxiety creates defeat, not movement.
Just “working on it” doesn’t work. “I’m working on the list. I’m working on my calendar. I need to be more organized. I need to spend more time on this. I just need to buckle down and do it. I need to work on it.” These phrases are warning signs that you are spinning your wheels. Stop “working on it” and DO something.
Getting victimized by life doesn’t work. We’ve all been there. Life is part of being human, and part of walking in our faith; it is part of having a family and having friends. Life happens. It comes at you. Health challenges will hit. You are going to get sick. Your kids are going to get sick. You are going to lose family members. Your friends will go through terrible things. We go through it every week, just like you do. We cannot let it victimize us to the point where we are not leaning into God, pressing on the work He calls us to do. That is not his plan for us. He will give us all the strength, energy, and focus sufficient to overcome. We must stop thinking and start moving.
Here’s what truly works.
Focused, intense effort in relatively short periods of time. Take 15 minutes after reading this article. Take massive action about moving forward and meeting with people. 15 minutes – that’s it! See how many people you can call in the next 15 minutes. This could be the letter you need to write, the email you need to send, picking up the phone. Whatever it is, take 15 minutes of intense focused action. Stop reading this article now and go do it. I dare you!
Now that you’ve done 15 minutes of work. Here’s the 90 minutes that can change everything.
Schedule 90 minutes of deep work this week. Get the ball rolling. Dedicate 90 minutes this week of focused, intentional work to scheduling time with people. Touch as many people as you can. Update them on how God is moving in your ministry. Take action. Meaningful, intentional action to thank, report, inform, encourage, update, invite, schedule, ask questions, or follow-up.
God does not plan for nor desire our plan to be crushed and crumbled. He says that He will sustain us and support us. He is going to work through YOU as you take this intense, massive action. You will be surprised by the results.
I want to hear back from you after you read this article. What did you do? How have you seen God work through that? I look forward to your answers!
For further help on how to schedule that first meeting with a potential donor, check out our Dialogue to Secure the First Meeting Tool.